Apparatus for and method of making washers.



J. W. OHLMAN.

APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF MAKING WASHERS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1918.

1,28,971 o Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

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A ffar-vvey 1. w. OHLMAN.

APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF MAKING WASHERS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 22,ms.

1,288,971., Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

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JAMES W. OHLMAN, GE MASSILLON, OHIO, ASSIGNOE TO THE RELIANCE MANUFAC-TUBING COMPANY, 011' MASSILLQN, OHIO, A CORPORATION 015 OHIO.

APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF MAKING WASHERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patent-ed Dec. 24, 1918.

Application filed April 22, 1918. Serial No. 229,920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES W. OHLMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Massillon, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and use ful Improvements in Apparatus for andMethods of Making Washers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for and method of making washers.These washers are virtually of divided or split annular or ring form andare used largely in railway construction and similar fields. In railwayuse they constitute part of a nutlock. In an application for patentfiled by E. W. Hart for wire coiling and cutting machine on December 8,1916, Serial No. 135,720, is shown a structure for coiling a wire orsimilar stock and cutting it to form such a washer. A washer made by themachine of said application or in some other fashion, is subsequentlyand by an entirely different machine, offset at. its ends to produce oneor more biting teeth. One of the primary motives I have in view is theprovision of an apparatus by which the washer can be made complete; thatis a washer can be produced which is ofi-set at one or both terminals.The ofi-setting to produce the teeth can be secured within the scope ofthe invention in a variety of different ways and preferably is at theends of the split or divided annulus. I have selected for illustration astructure involving the invention and suitable for carrying the methodinto effect. To enable those skilled in the art to comprehend both theapparatus or machine and method, this structure and its mode of actionwill be set forth fully in the following description. I do notnecessarily confine myself to this particular disclosure; I may departtherefrom in a number of ways within the scope of the invention definedby the claims following said description. It is eminently desirable,although it may not always be necessary, that the split annulus orwasher at its ends be furnished with biting teeth, and although theirdisposition may vary, I prefer generally speaking, that they extend in adirection conforming practically tangentially to the ends of the washerand opposite respectively to each other, so that for illustration whenthe washer is used in the case of a rail joint, one tooth will abutagainst and bite into the fish-plate, while the adjacent tooth willsimilarly act with respect to a nut, both constituting a part of thejoint.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the lower portion of the machine as seen fromthe opposite side from that appearing'in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig. 2, looking in thedirection of the arrow.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 44 of Fig. 3, looking in thedirection of the arrow, and

' Fig. 5 is a View corresponding practically to Fig. 4 but without thestop positioned.

Like characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

I have shown parts of the machine with permission of the applicant inthe case involving the invention of the application already identified,this because my invention -works with advantage in conjunction with saidmachine. As will be inferred I am in no manner limited in thisparticular, because the machine or apparatus may be of a radicallydifferent form. In view of this circumstance it is of course notnecessary for me to go into detail with the admittedly old structure anymore than to indicate the action of the new points and also the way ofcarryin the method into effect.

The framework for supporting the difierent parts of the machine involvesa base as 2 and a standard or upright as 3 rising therefrom. The stockas 4 from which the washers are formed, is practically rectangular incross section and as in said application is intermittently fed. On thebase 2 is a table or plate as 5 which may be bolted in position as byone or more bolts 6 and which has at its outer end the pendent flange 7to which is bolted as at 8 the pendent flange of the auxiliary framemember 9, which is furnished with anti-friction rollers 10 between whichthe wire stock 4 is guided and fed.

The auxiliary frame 9 sustains the superimposed rollers 11 between whichthe wire 4 passes and the peripheries of these rollers engage the wireand actually feed the same toward the forming and cutting means. Coaxialwith the lower roller 11 is a ratchet wheel 12 operable by the pawls 13which in turn are associated with the rocker 14 to which is pivoted thepitman 15 having a crank connection as 16 with the main shaft 17. Themain shaft is generally continuously operative. On the upper stroke ofthe pitman 15 through the primary influence of the said main shaft, therod or link 14 constituting a suitable carrier for the pawls, will beelevated so as to carry the pawls idly back over the teeth of theratchet wheel 12. On the opposite or down stroke of the pitmair thepawls will turn the ratchet wheel 12 and obviously effect the rotationof the lower wheel or drum l1 and the latter in turn will effect asimilar function of the upper wheel or drum, sothat the stock 4 will beadvanced, the amount of advance being virtually equal to thelength of anannulus,

ring or washer to-beproduced. The foregoing is clearly but one of, manydifferent ways by which the stockor wire can heada es After the wire 4or other stock from a reel or other suitable source of supply, passesunder the action ofthe straightening and guide rollers 10, it is as Ihave explained, presented to the superposed feed rollers 11 which moveit toward the coiling, cutting and off-setting means hereafter moreparticularly described.

The body of the platen supports the foot 20,of the'block- 21 which asshown stands practically upright or vertical. The foot or flange isfastened to said plate 5 by screws 23, of which thereare a convenientnumber. This block eonstitutes a suitable carrier fora mandrel as24which instead of being disposed horizontally as in the ap phcaton-already dentified, 1S upr ght or vertical. This mandrel- 1spractically in the form ofa half cylinder and it is united with ,thebodyofthe block 21 in some; desirable way so as to L be rigid therewith. llhat might be considered as the forv-Jard, lateral port-ion oftheblock-or carrier21 is on a bevel or slant as at-25, the upper surfaceof thesaid block orcarrier being apertured or recessed as at-26, theback of the aperture, recess or cut-away portion having a groove orchannel 27 continued only part of the length of thesame,the entering endof the channel, however, being virtually of arcuate form in crosssection so as to obtain a proper hold upon the stock or wire as thesameis advanced, the advance being toward the right for illustration in Fig.3.

r The upper surface of the block or carrier 21 has a second cut awayportion 28 in which is supported for free rotation the anti-frictionroller. 29 constituting a factor in thcproductionof ring; or rings, aplurality of the rings as will be clear being formed-in the presentcase. As a matter of fact two of the rings arethus produced by thestructure shown. The peripheral portion/of the roller 29 extends foraslight stance across the concaved surface 27. in

groove or channel 36..

end of the stock, the bent end of the stock as the latter continui-zsitsfeedencountering the, peripheral portion ,of the free roller 29, thefeed of the sto continuinguntil two complete helices are formed aboutthe mandrel 24 at which point-the two superimposed coils are inreadinessfor the dieing and cutting operation or as it might be con? vsidered,actions. g i V i There. is a lower die-member 30 and an upper die member31. In theiprcsent case one'of these members is stationary and the otheris movable,'be1ng-g1ven an intermittent reciprocation. As a matter ofpreference the lower die menu er 30 is fixed while the upper one ismounted for intermittentre-- ciprocation. Although the two die membersas I have considered them, consist each of two separate parts, this maynot always be necessary; obviously they are susceptible of v,easlerproductlonwhen .of sectional form.

The curved sur-- The lower die member as shown is rigid I- with thecarrier 21 and consists of complemeutal plates 32' and 33-practic allyrec tanglar in cross section. These platesare connected together in somesuitable way as by bolting. Their upper surfaces 34 and'35 on which thesuperimposed formed rings lie,

are flat or at least so for the major part block 33. It will beunderstoodthat the adjoining or abutting faces of these two sections areflat. Fromthe'lnner side-cf the ,thereof. The upper surface 34, of thepart member 33 thererises the-bead or..projee-'.

tion 37 which in the present case is of a cross sectional form v.agreeing 5 w th the The upper die member comprises the sec- 1 tions 38 and39, these twee-actions abutting like the lower two, ,fiatwise againsteach other and being held as byscrews-40in the.

holders4lconnected with the head 42 praccarrying head 42 is operable bythepitman l connected with an ec'entric 44 on the main shaft 17. Themain shaft is intermittentlythrown into action-through the agencyof aclutch controlled by the lever 45 also as shown in said application. Onthe manipulation, therefore, of the lever, the shaft 44 will be operatedand on each complete turn will impart to the head 42 a fullreciprocation.

The lower faces 46 and 47 of the sections 38 and 39 are flat but arenot, like the faces 34 and 35 flush, the face 47 being situated abovethe face 46. Or as it might otherwise be put, the interval between thefaces 35 and 48 is greater than that between the faces 34 and 46, thediflerence being practi-.

cally equal to the thickness of two rings which are to be formed. Themember 39 has on its inner side the rabbet 48, the cross sectional formof which agrees approximately with that of the bead 37 and also of therabbet or channel 36. The section 38 has at its lower endthe bead 49which agrees in shape with the head 37. This bead 49 is obviously ofacute angular form in cross section and with the head 37 cooperates tocut the stock. The beveled lower end of the bead 49 actually performsthe cutting operation, while the bead 37 acts practically as an anvilduring the cutting operation, although as I will later explain there isin addition to the cutting action, a forming action, this forming actionbeing to offset the terminal portions of a cut ring or washer. Not onlyis a ring cut and its end or ends deflected, but an end or ends thusdeflected acting against a similar blank or portion of the wire deflectsthe same which is a consideration of importance. As a matter of fact itis within the bounds of possibility that a previously cut blank formedto produce a washer, may when an end or ends are deflected applypressure to an adjoining blank generally below the same, tocorrespondingly off-set the latter. Obviously it is of the utmostadvantage when the cutting and deflecting actions are virtuallycontemporaneously accomplished.

The stock or wire 4 is advanced for instance toward the left in Fig. 1and right in Figs. 2 and 3 in the manner already described. As theleading end of the stock enters the groove 27, the stock is curled up asshown for instance in Fig. 3, the motion continuing until there are atleast two full coils or annuluses upon the lower die 30. On the descentof the upper die 31, it will strike the upper coil of the two, and thecutting edge 50 on the lower end of the acute angular bead 49 of thestock into the rabbet 48 and the bead 49 forcing the opposite end of thecut stock into the rabbet 36, the consequence being that as the helix iscut through to form a ring, the ends of the ring being cut, will beprojected upwardly and downwardly into the channels 48 and 36 by thebeads 37 and 49 respectively. The ring thus formed on the rising ofthedie 31 will fall away at which point the stock will be further advancedto repeat the action. As will be evident this cut away washer will haveits end portions oppositely deflected as illustrated for example by Fig.4.

causing" the deflected portion to similarly deflect the correspondingportion of an adjoining helix.

2. A method which comprises forming stock into a plurality of adjoininghelices, cutting through one of the helices to produce a split washer,deflecting a portion of a helix during the cutting operation at the cutend and in causing the deflected portion to similarly deflect thecorresponding portion of an adjoining helix.

3. A method which comprises forming stock into a plurality of adjoininghelices, cutting through one of the helices to produce a split washer,deflecting a portion of the helix at the same time the cut is beingmade, and at the same time causing the corresponding portion of anadjoining helix to be similarly deflected.

4. A method which comprises adjoining a plurality of helices, cuttingthrough one of the helices to produce a split washer, deflectingoppositely the end portions of the helix during the cutting operation atthe out, and in causing a deflected portion to correspondingly deflect asimilar portion of an adjoining helix.

5. A method which comprises adjoining a plurality of helices, cuttingthrough one of the helices to produce a split washer, oppositelydeflecting the end portions of the helix at the cut during the cuttingoperation and at the same time causing a part of an adjoining helix tobe also deflected.

6. A method which comprises forming stock into a helix, cutting throughthe helix to produce a split washer, and deflecting a portion of thehelix at the cut during the latter operation to secure a biting tooth inthe washer.

7. A machine for making washers comprising means for forming stock intoa plurality of adjoining helices, and means for cutting through a helixto form asplit washer, at the same time deflecting a part of the stockduring the cutting operation to produce a tooth and for causing thedeflected part to press against the corresponding part of an adjoininghelix to similarly deflect the same.

i 8. A machine of the class described comprising a die member, a mandrelin correlation with the die member, means for feedingnvire stock aroundthe mandrelto form 7 part of the ad OminghehX to slmllerly decond.chemember, and means for effectmg 7 1 superposed coils upon said. diemember, .a

a -lfelative (movement of the die 1- members,

said die, members having =means-whieh ;co- I operate to cut through theupper helix to;

form a split Washer, at the same timedefiectingathe ends of the splitwasher. during thQputting OPeratiOnt -pPQdu e teeth and. 10. 1501causing the deflected part of said split Washer to press against" thecorresponding fleet the same.

:In" testimony whereof I- afiixlniysigneture in the presence of twoWitnesses.

JAIVIES- W, OHLMAN.

